GCN AUGUST 2013 • GCN.COM 25
The nation s four major wireless carriers
have committed to delivering text
messages to 911 emergency answering
points by May 2014, and the Federal
Communications Commission is
considering rules that would expand the
requirement to smaller carriers and to
third-party texting service providers
The FCC calls the ability to send
emergency text messages a "crucial step"
in the transition to Next Generation 911,
which eventually would allow delivery
of the full suite of IP communications,
including images, video and data, to Public
Safety Answering Points.
"Our proposal . . . will vastly enhance
the system s accessibility for over 40
million Americans with hearing or speech
disabilities," the FCC said in a notice of
proposed rules in December. "It will also
provide a vital and lifesaving alternative
to the public in situations where 911 voice
service is unavailable or placing a voice call
could endanger the caller."
There have been a handful of trials
and early implementations of text-to-911,
dating back to 2009 in Black Hawk County,
Iowa. Since then AT&T has tested it
in Tennessee, and Verizon Wireless in
partnership with 911 services provider
Intrado has implemented it in Durham,
N.C., the state of Vermont and several
other jurisdictions.
But because text messages are routed
di erently than voice calls, most 911
systems today do not support text-
to-911, although many consumers are
not aware of this and sometimes try to
text emergency messages. To address
this issue, the FCC in May enacted one
of the proposed rules, requiring text
service providers to produce bounce-back
error messages where text-to-911 is not
supported by the local PSAP, advising
users to place a voice call instead. Major
wireless carriers already had agreed to do
this, and under the new rule all carriers will
begin providing error messages by June 28.
In May 2012, Verizon Wireless
announced plans to deploy text-to-911
capability throughout its nationwide
network in 2013, and AT&T made a
similar announcement the next month.
In December, these two carriers along
with Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile entered
a voluntary agreement along with the
National Emergency Number Association
and the Association of Public Safety
Communications O cials to provide text-
to-911 service to any PSAP requesting it by
May 15, 2014.
While this is a major step toward
enabling emergency text services, the
agreement has limitations. It covers only
Short Message Service messages provided
by the four carriers. Although SMS is
the most common text format, the FCC
says there are a growing number of text
applications that can be downloaded for
mobile devices for what it calls "over the
top" messaging that does not use the
carriers networks but can interconnect
with other phone systems. The
proposed rules would expand text-to-911
requirements by the May 2014 deadline to
such interconnect text services that send
messages to phone numbers (rather than
within closed systems such as games or
social media) and to all regional, local and
rural wireless carriers.
The voluntary agreement would not
include roaming, and users would have
to be in their carrier s network to use the
service. Also, each implementation of the
service will be unique to the carrier or its
gateway service provider. The FCC proposal
would standardize the services.
The big carriers, although ready to begin
rolling out text-to-911 services, are hesitant
about expanding the requirements of their
voluntary agreement.
"The agreement reflects what is
technically feasible and is a reasonable
interim measure until IP-enabled NG911
services become more widely available,"
Verizon Wireless said in response to the
FCC proposal. The FCC should ensure
that any new rules stick to what is
now technically feasible, and it should
allow industry and PSAPs to develop
needed standards and best practices,
the company said. "Industry and
public safety stakeholders already are
coordinating text-to-911 deployment and,
in Verizon s experience, have been able
to constructively and amicably resolve
technical and other issues that have
arisen."
Whatever the FCC s decision on the new
rules, they would address only half of the
equation in delivering the new service.
Availability of text-to-911 to consumers will
depend on the ability of PSAP s to adopt
the capability, and this will depend on
political and budgetary issues outside the
FCC s control as well as on technology.
--- William Jackson
WHEN NEXTGEN 911 SERVICES SHOW UP, CLOUD-BASED
CALL CENTERS WILL BE READY FOR THEM